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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
There is no country on the face of the earth that possesses greater interest in the eyes of the scientific or travelled than Mexico, the scene where the adventures so graphically and clearly narrated in this volume transpired: nor is this partiality to be wondered at when we recall to memory what a lavish hand Nature has subtended to her. Although several of our most celebrated naturalists have climbed its lofty volcanic mountains, explored its lagoons and giant rivers, and traversed its immense
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
The evening before leaving for one of my periodical excursions, I was putting in order my guns, my insect-cases, and all my travelling necessaries, when my eldest son, a lad nine years old, came running to me in that wheedling manner—using that irresistible diplomacy of childhood which imposes on fathers and mothers so many troublesome treaties, and which children so well know how to assume when they desire to obtain a favor. "Are you going to make as long a journey as you did last month?" he as
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
It was the 20th April, 1864. The clock of the church of the convent of Saint Joseph de Grace chimed 4 A.M. just as we turned into the main street that leads out of the town. Sumichrast took the lead. Tall in stature, noble in mien, and broad-shouldered, he was, in spite of his blue eyes and fair hair, the perfect representative of moral and bodily strength. I was always in the habit of permitting him to lead the way, when, in any of our excursions, it was necessary to favorably impress the imagi
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
The breakfast was a cheerful one, thanks to the Spanish wine spoken of by our host. The Indian laborers, with their wives and children, assembled in inquisitive groups round the windows of the dwelling. Lucien certainly carried the day, for he it was that they chiefly sought to see. As for Gringalet, he was much less cordially received by his brother-dogs belonging to the place; consequently, he scarcely left his young master's side, and showed his teeth incessantly. Sumichrast wishing, before w
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
I rose long before day and woke my companion. Lucien rubbed his eyes two or three times, trying in vain to make out where he was. After some moments, drawing the coverlet over him, he turned round to go to sleep again. "Now, then, young Lazybones!" I cried, "don't you hear the cock crowing, telling us we ought to be on our road? Jump up and look round, and you will see the birds and the insects are already busy." The child got up, appearing half stupefied, and stretched himself with a long yawn.
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
Our way led through nothing but scrub oaks, for all the larger trees had gradually disappeared from the mountain-side, which had for some time been cultivated by the Indians. The path was steep, rugged, and stony; and seemed, at first, to defy any attempt to scale it. Notwithstanding the measured pace at which we were walking, we were obliged to stop every minute to recover our breath. Lucien followed us so eagerly that I was obliged to check him several times. He was surprised at not seeing any
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
We were now more than 5000 feet above the level of the sea, and the coldness of the breeze quite surprised my son, who, being accustomed to the climate of the Terre-Tempérée , had never before felt any thing like the atmosphere we were now in. As if by instinct, he held his fingers in his mouth, to prevent their getting numbed. But when the sun had reached a certain height, there was no longer any need to complain of the cold. As we advanced, the trees grew closer and closer together. Lucien, wh
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
The first thing I saw on opening my eyes was l'Encuerado, who was getting ready our coffee, and Lucien crouching close to the fire, piling up a quantity of dry branches round the kettle, at some risk, however, of upsetting it. "Why, Lucien," I cried, "it is not light yet, and you are up already! Didn't you sleep well?" "Oh yes, papa," he answered, kissing me; "but l'Encuerado disturbed Gringalet, so he thought proper to come and lie down on me , and that woke me, for Gringalet is very heavy. So,
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CATS'-EYES POMADE.—ARMADILLO.—LUCIEN AND THE CRUEL FERN.-THE FALLEN MOUNTAIN.—THE WOODPECKER.—THE BASILISK.—L'ENCUERADO'S FRESH IDEA. Gringalet, who had been the first to give the alarm, was also the first to go to sleep again. I could not help waiting with some degree of anxiety for l'Encuerado's return. In a quarter of an hour, as the Indian did not arrive, I began to think that, confused by the darkness, he had missed finding our bivouac. After having called him two or three times, withou
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
We left our bivouac at daybreak, first ascending and then descending, sometimes making our way through thickets and other times through glades; suddenly a flock of vultures attracted our attention. A hideous spectacle was now presented to our eyes. A coyote —doubtless that which l'Encuerado had wounded the day before—lay half devoured on the ground, and more than fifty guests were coming in turn for their share, and to tear, in turn, a strip of flesh from the carcass. "What frightful creatures!"
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
L'Encuerado's prediction seemed as if it was likely to be realized. About three o'clock in the morning we were awakened by a hoarse roaring; the trees seemed to shiver; sometimes the uproar appeared to grow less and almost to cease, and then broke out again louder than ever. I hastened to warm some coffee; but two or three times the intermittent squalls scattered the burning fagots of our fire, and the hot ashes nearly blinded us. This mishap was owing to the open glade being so near to us, acro
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
The next day, when I opened my eyes, the sun was shining brightly in a blue sky. I made up the fire, and walked off, with my gun on my shoulder, to try and obtain some kind of game, so as to surprise my companions when they got up. For about a quarter of an hour I traversed tracts of heath which reminded me of my native country, when a too confiding rabbit came frisking along within gunshot, which I knocked over and placed in my game-bag. On my return all were up, standing round the fire, and th
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
The rice-soup, our every-day fare, was, on this occasion, followed by fawn cutlets broiled on the embers, accompanied by potatoes. This precious tubercle, in its savage state, only reminded us very slightly of its cultivated progeny. The pulp, instead of being floury, is soft, transparent, and almost tasteless. That, however, did not prevent us from eating them, and doing justice to our venison. While we were smoking a cigar, which was called by Sumichrast, according to circumstances, the calume
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
As the sun was setting, our wisest course was to go back to our bivouac of the evening before, and to postpone until the next day the discovery of the passage we had sought in vain. Upon the whole, the sight of the cataract had amply repaid us for our useless walk. Our little party, therefore, once more plunged into the forest, rather at random, though taking care not to go too far from the stream. Two or three times we seemed to have reached the spot where we left the bank; but we soon got into
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
Lucien, seated on the grass, amused himself with touching all the plants within reach of his travelling staff; suddenly he noticed that the branches and leaves of a small shrub shut up when he brushed them with his stick, just like the ribs of a parasol, moved by some invisible spring—it was a sensitive-plant . He called to us to ask for an explanation of this phenomenon, so we assembled round the shrub, which was about three feet high; its leaves finely cut and of a delicate green color, with p
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
The sun left us soon afterwards, and we sat talking by the fire. At last l'Encuerado took away Lucien towards the rocks, and set up one of those interminable chants with which his memory was stored. Our fire lighted up with its red gleam the stone on which they were sitting, making it look like an immense pedestal, surmounted by two bronze statues. Any traveller suddenly entering the valley would have recoiled in terror before this fantastic apparition; and if any wild beast had been prowling ne
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
Lucien had run on in front with the two partridges; when I arrived at the bivouac, I found an enormous mole roasting on the fire, and Sumichrast catching with the utmost care the fat which ran from it. "How did you kill this animal?" I asked, addressing my companions; "I did not hear you fire." "L'Encuerado knocked it down with the butt-end of his gun, and just at the same moment your two shots brought us back to the cave." "Why are you collecting this fat? Is it a prophet of some new dish in pr
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
While making our way through the brush-wood, in the hopes of putting up some game of a more appetizing nature than the opossum , our feet became entangled in the fibrous and creeping branches of the earth-nut, called by the Indians tlalcacahuatl . Although the stems were still covered with white flowers, l'Encuerado dug up the soil in which the fruit had buried itself in order to complete its ripening, and there found a quantity. The tlalcacahuatl , which is classed by botanists in the leguminou
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
It rained all night, and I awoke about seven o'clock in the morning shivering with cold. It was Ascension-day, and l'Encuerado, before making up the fire, chanted a canticle, and, after the manner of Roman Catholics, piously crossed himself. We were soon comforted with some coffee, and then, each of us resuming his burden, started off to reach the foot of the mountain. Before plunging into the forest, I could not help looking back with regret at the cave we had scarcely explored, and in which so
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The next day, which was the nineteenth since our departure from Orizava, we examined and compared our compasses, and the course of our journey was changed. Hitherto we had proceeded in a north-easterly direction, skirting the provinces of Puebla and Vera Cruz, but still without leaving the Cordilleras, the numerous valleys and forests of which are still unexplored. According to my calculations, and also those of Sumichrast, we were then abreast with the province of Mexico, and we agreed to move
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CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
By ten o'clock in the morning we had crossed some rising ground, and were passing through a narrow gorge carpeted with ferns. Lucien headed the party, closely followed by l'Encuerado; and led us on to a kind of rocky staircase, down which, in the rainy season, water doubtlessly flowed. This steep path compelled us to halt several times to recover our breath. The branches of the bushes formed an archway over our heads, and their blossoms surrounded us with their rich perfume. At length a rise in
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
The sun had not risen when we were up and ready to start. We shivered with cold, for on the great plateau which we had now reached, to which the inhabitants of the lower regions give the name of Terre-Froide , the mornings are frosty. The profound darkness was succeeded by a dim twilight, afterwards by a fog, which penetrated our clothing as much as rain. "There has been no shower," cried Lucien, "and yet we are all wet." "It is the dew, Chanito; it is almost as abundant as the night dews in the
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
The dwelling so generously put at our disposal was a large shed, divided into three rooms by bamboo partitions; mats, spread out on the ground, formed our beds, and the remainder of the furniture consisted of nothing but two benches. L'Encuerado swept out one of the rooms, and, collecting some dry palm-leaves, made us a softer resting-place than we had slept on for the last twenty days. A troop of children—of both sexes, and perfectly naked—formed a circle round us, and watched our movements wit
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
As soon as it was light, I awoke Sumichrast and Lucien. L'Encuerado was sleeping so soundly, after his exploits of the night before, that we hesitated to disturb him. I intended to hunt for insects all day, so as to fill up the vacant spaces in the specimen-boxes that Torribio was to take to Puebla; so we bent our steps towards the bottom of the valley. As the inhabitants were still asleep in their huts, Gringalet passed safely all his sleeping brother-dogs with his tail boldly cocked. The windi
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CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Three days of difficult travelling brought us into the midst of the Terre-Tempérée . Thus we had traversed the whole breadth of the Cordillera, at one time shivering on their summits, at another perspiring, as we penetrated narrow and deep-sunk valleys, just as the chances of our journey led us. Every now and then we caught a sight of the pointed cone of the volcano of Orizava, which assisted us in taking our bearings. At last, four days after taking leave of Coyotepec, we established our bivoua
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CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXIV.
"How is your arm now, l'Encuerado?" I asked, finding the Indian up when I awoke. "Pretty well, Tatita; but I find I mustn't move it much. If I do, it feels as if the blackguard water-dog was still holding me." I again dressed the wound, the Indian continuing to hurl fresh abuse at the otter. I made him keep quiet, and prepared the coffee. Sumichrast and Lucien then rose, and we decided to start—the rainy season, which was approaching, rendering haste necessary. L'Encuerado, in spite of our remon
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CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXV.
I was suddenly awakened by the report of a gun just as the day was breaking. L'Encuerado showed me an enormous squirrel, with a gray back and white belly—a species which never climbs, and is, for this reason, called by Indians amotli (ground-squirrel). This animal, which lives in a burrow, has all the grace and vivacity of its kind, but it can never be domesticated. It generally goes about in numerous bands, and, when near cultivation, will commit in a single night great destruction; the farmers
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CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Gringalet's barking, the yelping of the coyotes, the heat, the song of the grasshoppers, and the sting of the mosquitoes, all combined to disturb our rest. About five o'clock the sun rose radiant, and was greeted by the cardinals, trogons, and parrots. Lucien was aroused by all these fresh sounds, and his eyes rested for some time on the wall of verdure which seemed to bar the entrance of the forest. A cloud of variegated butterflies drew his attention for an instant; but he was soon absorbed in
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CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVII.
The parrots that we heard chattering were quite sufficient to wake us up in the morning. The sun rose red and angry; a perfect concert soon greeted its appearance. The hoccos set up their sonorous clucking, and birds of every kind came fluttering round us. Lucien, now reconciled to the virgin forests, was never tired of admiring the varieties of trees, shrubs, or bushes, and the infinite number of the winged inhabitants which enliven them. We slowly descended into the plain; even now the heat wa
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
We were all stirring by sunrise. After throwing away the remains of yesterday's meat, one night in this climate being enough to putrefy it, l'Encuerado arranged some fishing-lines along the stream, and our little party set off, struggling against the heat, the mosquitoes, and the horse-flies. The Indian, following the flight of a purple-feathered bird, led us close to an immense ant-hill. The little colony seemed very busy; but I hurried Lucien away, fearing he might be bitten by them. "The ants
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CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXIX.
After looking at us for a moment, the animal crept cunningly round us, alternately appearing and disappearing behind the trees. I hastened to make up the fire, and then sat down near Lucien, who, gun in hand, was bravely watching the enemy. "Whatever you do, don't fire," I said. "If I did, would the animal spring upon us?" "He would far more likely retreat; but we shall want our ammunition to-morrow." For an hour the animal kept prowling round, every now and then bounding off. At last it came an
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CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER XXX.
The next day found us at work building our raft, and l'Encuerado went off with Lucien in quest of some flexible creepers, to be used for binding together the various portions of it. When our companions joined us, Sumichrast was squaring out the last trunks. Lucien, laden with creepers wound all round his body, carried besides, at the end of his stick, the carcass of a horned snake— Atropos Mexicanus —which has scales standing erect behind its eyebrows, like little horns, which have obtained for
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CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXI.
After we had finished our breakfast next morning, we embarked our baggage and menagerie, and prepared to depart. I was just going on board the raft when a noise attracted our attention to the forest, and two peccaries rushed past us, pursuing one another. L'Encuerado, taken by surprise, shot at one of the animals without killing it, and we all gave chase. Hardly had we gone a hundred paces, when the Indian, who was in front of us, turned right about, shouting out, "To the raft! to the raft!" A n
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CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXII.
The next morning l'Encuerado started alone on the raft; for we had resolved to cross the savannah on foot, and thus escape, for an hour or two, the insects which took advantage of our forced immobility in order to bleed us at their leisure. Flocks of black vultures hovered high up in the sky, bending their course towards a spot not very far from the river bed. Our curiosity led us in that direction, and in a large hole, with perpendicular sides, about twelve yards wide, we saw several hundreds o
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CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The undertaking was beyond our strength. Panting and suffocated with heat, and tormented by thirst, we were compelled to desist. Lucien's feet pained him dreadfully, but the brave little fellow kept constantly saying, "I should be all right if I could only have a good drink." My friend several times gave him his gourd to wet his tongue from, but it was only temporary relief. Night came on, and we began to prepare for our almost hopeless march. A mouthful of brandy gave us a little artificial str
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